I have never been sooo excited. Well, that's not true. I probably have been more excited but the beauty about growing old is that the immediate future and immediate past is all that matters. And in my immediate scenario Sting was the highlight.
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| Look at that weather |
I was worried about the weather because there were friends coming from Auckland and they can be SO judgmental! But, there was nothing to worry about. Although Friday was a little on the overcast side and there was a sprinkling of rain Saturday perked up and it was a glorious summer day and evening. The group I was with had a late lunch. Late being the operative word. Arrived at my friend's place at 2.00pm. Got fed at 4.00pm. Did we play scrabble in between times - oh no! Only the best Hawke's Bay wine. Yours truly was very responsible as I had the car with the VIP parking.
An advance party left for the concert around 5.00pm to see the third of the support acts. There was a steady stream of concert goers arriving with us although the General Admission area (otherwise known as the hill) was already packed. Of course I was in the seated area so no concerns about finding an appropriate spot.
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| The man himself |
We decided to get a bottle of wine when we arrived so that we could enjoy the set of the support act - Revival Corporation. Well, that was a good idea and that was about all it amounted to. The alcohol restrictions this year meant that no-one could take alcohol into the venue so everyone was queueing for their refreshments. And when I say queueing, I mean of biblical proportions. Move over the Vatican for numbers. FORTY FIVE minutes later people we finally had our wine in hand. Only one bottle per person and, get this, the red was chilled and the white was warm. Furthermore, they couldn't sell us glasses because they may be needed for wine-by-the-glass sales later in the night. Yeah right! We got to our seats, thinking we were going to have to neck these bottles, and the support act finished. Luckily the last part of the group arrived and had spare glasses with them.
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| Sting and NZSO |
Whinge for the night over - the man did not disappoint. Sting is like a truly, rare, great wine. He just gets better and better with age. Of course, he only had eyes for me. Well that's my story and I am sticking to it. And how about the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra - outstanding. I actually think that the conductor out-moved Sting. He jumped, ran, plunged and darted all over the place all night. But back to the man, His voice was in fine form, his story-telling spell binding, and his guitar work as deft as ever. And when he came out in the t-shirt in the second half I nearly slid off my seat. Is it easy to tell that I am infatuated?
I didn't want the concert to end - along with 26,000 others that were apparently there. Four encores and the crowd singing 'Message In A Bottle' as we all shuffled our way to the exits. Phew!!!! Amazing!!!!
THE BEST........duhhh - Sting!
THE WORST........Mission Estate -get your act together with being able to service a crowd of thirsty and hungry people. Fancy telling the punters on the night that we were making the problem worse by not being decisive enough with our orders. Hmm, first rule of customer service - the customer is always right.
I'M LEARNING.....aging can be done gracefully.
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